‘It’s tradition’: The child brides of Indonesia’s Sumenep Regency

‘It’s tradition’: The child brides of Indonesia’s Sumenep Regency

Chandni Vatvani

SUMENEP REGENCY, Indonesia: Bold makeup from inside the tones away from red-colored and you may black covered the sight, hair adorned that have buds away from jasmine, a great bejewelled wonderful dish rested up on its foreheads, when you’re significantly more silver complemented brilliant gowns cinched on their waists.

Their quick hands have been intricately lined which have a type of color like henna; even though they appeared as if small people dolls, their faces was basically glum.

Shifty-eyed, fidgety and you can trying remain their anxiety in balance, these are the youngster brides and grooms off Sumenep Regency in the its relationship.

Dealing with Sumenep isn’t any simple feat. The newest regency are 170km regarding Surabaya, Indonesia’s 2nd-prominent urban area, on area away from Madura.

You are going to need to travel from Jakarta so you’re able to Surabaya, which could just take ranging from 75 and you can 90 times then go on a four-hour drive; this is how i discovered our selves riding to your regency you to early morning, passage all those salt facilities in the process.

The youngsters, six of those, was indeed during the its wedding dinner being kept at the a field which have a large tent regarding section out of Dungkek.

Based on tourist, the youngsters got simply hitched you to definitely morning – brand new eldest is an effective fourteen-year-dated boy just who married an effective thirteen-year-old; the new youngest, a several-year-old youngster, try marry to a great five-year-dated boy, therefore the last couples was in fact a pair of six-year-olds.ادامه خواندن